Entries Tagged as 'richard'

Nice Cream

August 10th, 2011 · 1 Comment

I was just reading about how the government wants to shut down Nice Cream (fresh, organic, local, handcrafted ice cream made at Logan Square Kitchen), when I stumbled upon it at the Logan Square Farmers Market. I guess to say that the government wants to shut them down is incorrect. They’re adding so many regulations that it will not be possible for Nice Cream to stay in business. I think that’s a more accurate description of what’s going on. Read more about it here.

Anyway, my brother and I went to brunch at Dunlay’s on the Square and walked through the market afterwards. I was pleasantly surprised to see Nice Cream selling there and we each sampled a few flavors. This is their summer line up (from their site):

Blueberry Pie Our Blueberry Pie ice cream is like a warm slice of pie with vanilla ice cream on top – except the other way around! How do we make it so delicious? Easy. We get blueberry pie from Bulldog Bakery here in Chicago and smash it right into our vanilla bean ice cream, crust and all!

Cashew Crunch For our brand new Cashew Crunch ice cream we take chunks of cashew peanut brittle from Mama’s Nuts in Chicago and mix them into creamy vanilla bean ice cream. And here’s the best part: the brittle melts a tiny bit when we mix it, forming pockets of gooey caramel with a nutty crunch. This might be the best thing we’ve ever made.

Chocolate Basil Think Chocolate Mint, but a little bit more…adventurous! For our Chocolate Basil ice cream we infuse freshly picked organic basil leaves from hereTM in Chicago, Illinois and mix in 72% dark chocolate for a rich, sweet taste, straight out of the garden.

Strawberry Cupcake We took last year’s Fresh Strawberry ice cream and made it even better! Strawberry Cupcake has delicious bites of cupcake and buttercream frosting from the renowned Southport Grocery in Chicago. And the strawberries? We still pick ‘em ourselves (really!) at Susie’s Garden Patch in Garden Prarie, IL.

We ended up purchasing cute tiny baby cones, which was just enough sweet after our savory brunch at Dunlay’s. I got the cashew crunch and my brother got the blueberry pie. Delicious! Save this business!

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Retro on Roscoe

August 9th, 2011 · No Comments

After the Cubs game we headed over to Jen and Chad’s for their annual Retro on Roscoe party. After hanging out at the house for a bit, we went to the festival to meet up with more friends and to get something to eat. I always like Retro on Roscoe, but this year the food seemed different. Dallas has a favorite Polish stand that he looks forward to every year and it was no where to be seen. Maybe because of this? I tried to be a bit healthier and got a chicken kebab with a salad and nothing had any sauce on it. It was all very dry, including the pita it was served with. Oh well.

Last year this space in the garage was filled with about 10 strollers and there were many kids running around the party. I thought it was a sign of the times, and I think it still is, but for some reason this year? No strollers. And only a handful of kids.

Like most years there was a ton of beer pong being played. I did not play this year but my brother did. Before I knew it, it was 11 p.m. Not too late, but we had met up for the game at 11:15 a.m., so it was a long, long day. Caroline, who announced that day that she will be our DD for 9 long months, gave us a ride home.

Previous visits to Retro on Roscoe:
- 2010
- 2008
- 2007
- 2004

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Richard’s First Trip to Wrigley Field

August 8th, 2011 · No Comments


Harry Caray


Ernie Banks


Billy Williams


Chicago Cubs Dixieland Band

On Saturday my brother Richard came down from Wisconsin and we went to see the Cubs take on the Reds. This was his first time to Wrigley Field. My brother is a big Brewers fan and goes to Miller Park many times each season, so the Wrigley experience was quite different.

We took the bus to the train to get to the park and before meeting up with Brian and Jill we took a walk around the park so I could show him the statues of Harry Caray, Ernie Banks and Billy Williams. We even ran into the Cubs Dixieland Band. They were sitting just below us at the game too. Also, I just wanted him to see how different Wrigley is in that it sits right in a neighborhood. It’s not a big parking lot you drive into and tailgate. There people everywhere; streets closed; bars, restaurants, pop-up vendors; Billy Cub, the wannabe mascot; the rooftops. I think of Wrigley Field as very historic, like Lambeau Field. Wrigley is 97 years old. While Miller Park is very nice, it’s only 10 years old, so it just has a more modern feeling.


Richard & Rachelle

The Brewers are leading our division and the Cubs are so far behind that my brother didn’t really feel bad cheering for a Cubs win. And win they did! The Cubs had an 11-4 victory over the Reds. It was their 7th in a row win, which is the longest winning stretch since 2008.


Surplus Money


Irish Car Bombs


Richard’s first Irish Car Bomb

During the game we played the dollar cup game (I don’t know what it’s called!). I think I lost more than I won. I remember Jill getting a bunch of doubles and taking out and Brian got a home run once and emptied the cup! At the end of the game there was a bunch of money left. I’ve only played this game once before and at the end we bought beer and wings. This time Brian suggested shots! We went across the street to Club 162 (the old Harry Caray’s) and were trying to figure out what to get when it was revealed that my brother never had an irish car bomb before. So, that’s what we got. And wouldn’t you know it? He finished first!

After this we walked over to Jill and Brian’s house and got Halle and headed to Retro on Roscoe. More on that later!

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Radiators are not cheap

June 12th, 2011 · 1 Comment

So, back to that Jeep thing. On my drive to Milwaukee for the UPAF Ride for the Arts, the dash started dinging and lit up saying “check gauges.” I looked at all the gauges and noticed that the temperature gauge was all the way to the right, indicating as hot as it can be. I pulled over at the next exit that I could and pulled into a parking lot in an office park. As soon as I stopped the car smoke came billowing out of the hood area. I got out of the Jeep and looked down. Green fluid was flowing out. Lots of it. My parents were already at my brother’s house when I called up there and so my dad and my brother agreed to come down. I checked Google Maps on my phone and saw that there was an auto parts store nearby. I called them and they were open til 10 p.m. My hope was that my dad would come down, realize it was a hose or something easy, go to the parts store and fix it and we’d be on our way.

So, I camped out in the parking lot of this building.

And waited for my dad and my brother to drive down from Milwaukee. I realized that I wasn’t even out of the city of Chicago! I was at Cicero and Peterson, quite a ways north and west in the city, but still, in the city. So, I realized it would take them a while to come down. Luckily, I was not alone. I had this to keep me company:

I was bringing these Half Acre beers for my dad and my brother to try. They were still ice-cold and it was in the high 70s that evening, so I cracked one open and waited.

Then after a while I oriented myself using the web browser and maps on my phone. I realized I was right next to a Whole Foods, so I walked over to the store and killed some time there.

When my dad and brother arrived they took a look at the car. We realized that the leak was not in a hose, but was actually a leak from the radiator. I needed a tow. Well, little did we know that it would be SO HARD to get a tow. Some said they couldn’t get to me for hours, some said they’d call me back and didn’t, some said they were closed (!?), some didn’t answer their phone, some said they didn’t have a flatbed tow truck, which a few told me I needed. I was basically just going down lists of tow companies on Yelp and Google just trying to get anyone to come out.

Finally, I called a guy who said he didn’t have a flatbed but knew someone who did. I was rolling my eyes at this. I’d heard it before that night and it didn’t pan out, but when he gave me the number I called it and a guy said they could come out within 20 minutes and he actually did. I got my tow! For future reference, this was S&M Towing. They were great to work with did what they said, charged what they estimated, right to the dollar. Nothing shady. Also for future reference, the tow was $85 to hook up the car and $3.50 (I think) per mile after that. It came to about $103. Also, while we were waiting for the tow truck to arrive, I ran into that Whole Foods and bought us all slices of pizza and drinks. It was getting late, I’d been sitting in a hot parking lot forever, and we needed to eat.

My dad rode in the tow truck and chatted it up with the driver. My brother and I followed in my brother’s truck. We towed the Jeep to our regular service station, Nal’s. Dallas’s uncles are good friends with the owner, Al. Dallas has golfed with him before and stuff, but I’ve never met him. I should mention I also spent about a half hour or more calling all of Dallas’s uncles and Dallas, who was in Las Vegas, trying to get Al’s number and find out if I could tow to his shop and leave it. By then the shop was closed so I couldn’t ask them. Anyway, long story short, no one was answering their phone on a Saturday night. We ended up leaving the Jeep on a residential street just south of the shop, where there was no parking restrictions.

After leaving the Jeep, my dad and brother and I drove up to my brother’s house. We pulled in at about 11 p.m., about 5 hours later than I’d planned to arrive. By the time we went to bed it was almost midnight. So, yeh. Late night. And we had to get up at 6 a.m. to get ready for the bike ride! But it all worked out..

When Dallas got back from Las Vegas he brought the keys up to the shop and worked everything out with them. The repairs will end up costing a lot more than I’d have liked – about $600. Stinks! But hopefully nothing will go wrong again and we can stretch out the life of this car. It’s old, but still generally runs good. And $600 is less than a new car. If the Jeep keeps acting up, though, we may have to think about doing a trade in.

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UPAF’s Ride for the Arts

June 11th, 2011 · 1 Comment

As I mentioned before, last weekend my brother, my dad and I did UPAF’s Ride for the Arts. One of the largest one-day recreational bike rides in the United States, UPAF’s Ride for the Arts has raised more than $7 million for the United Performing Arts Fund (UPAF), which helps fund 34 performing arts groups throughout Southeast Wisconsin. So a big “thanks!” to everyone who sponsored us. We were able to raise over $100. And if you meant to sponsor us, but didn’t, you still can here.


UPAF Ride for the Arts start line.


Dad & Richard at the start.


Richard and Rachelle at the start.

We selected to do the 25-mile ride. There are also 5, 12, 50 and 75-mile bike routes. I think if it were up to my dad he’d go for the 75! But no way for Richard and I! Since the ride starts early Sunday morning, I drove down on Saturday night. Well, I attempted to. My car broke down on the way there, but that’s another story! On Saturday it was in the 80s or 90s and I was kind of scared for Sunday, but it really cooled down. Dad was complaining he was cold, even!

We got up early on Sunday, after only about 6 hours of sleep (See the part above about my car breaking down. Long story!) and just ate something very light. The grounds of Summerfest were the starting point, so we loaded the bikes onto my brother’s bike carrier thing-a-ma-jigy for the car and headed up. On the way there we stopped for air for the bike tires. I didn’t realize that my tires were very under inflated. When we got there, I took my bike off the rack and it tried it out. It felt so nice riding with inflated tires! haha.

The photos above are of us at the start line. There was a bit of confusion at the start of the race. Where to line up, which way to face. It ended up starting 20 minutes late. We didn’t know why at the time, but afterwards I read this article and found out that they were doing last-minute patches on the bridge route (see below). One thing that I did not mind is that in the confusion we totally missed all of the speeches by the big wigs welcoming us and what not. Let’s just go! Although last year I did like it when they announced we’d all be getting free hotdogs!


Hoan Bridge


Hoan Bridge


Hoan Bridge


Dad on the Hoan Bridge


Hoan Bridge


Don’t know why my brother is doing this.


Hoan Bridge


Hoan Bridge

This year there were two 25-mile routes. One went over the Hoan Bridge and one that stayed at ground level and went through the Historic Third Ward. Since we went through the Third Ward last year, we opted for the Hoan Bridge this year. Plus, who knows if they’ll ever cut off traffic and offer that option again! This was the first legal opportunity to ride on the bridge in nearly 30 years. This was our route.


First Oasis


Getting snacks.


Drummers

The first rest stop, ahem “oasis,” is at mile 5 at a church in St. Francis. Last year there was play acting for entertainment. This year was drumming. I liked the drumming better. We got refueled on fruit and granola and water and were back on the road.


Riding on from the first oasis.


Oasis Two


Dad at the second oasis.


Dad and Richard at the second oasis.


Big bike at the second oasis.

The next oasis didn’t come until the halfway point, down in Grant Park. There was a guy there with a big, old fashioned bike. I called BS on him riding it all the way through the ride. I thought he was just showing it off at the oasis… but just after we finished the ride we saw him pull in past the finish line!


They stole our matching costume idea!


Richard and my dad.


Belly dancers at the last oasis.

Riding back up towards Milwaukee.. the last oasis was at about mile 20 or 21 and was at the Coast Guard post. There were belly dancers for entertainment here.


At the finish line!

At the finish line. I was feeling pretty good. I was only winded a couple times on the ride and only for a few minutes. I was tired, but I felt a lot better than I did last year.


Beeeeeer


Free hotdogs and “cheese”

So, at the Summerfest grounds, on to the reward! We got ice-cold Miller beer. Always tastes like the best beer you ever had. There were also a ton of free Sun Chips, Kangaroo pita chips, Rold Gold pretzels, and granola bars. Like last year, we were also promised free hotdogs courtesy of Gahn Meat. We got our pathetic hot dogs and they were ok. Not the best, but hit the spot after the ride. This year we were also promised free cheese. Well, it turned out to be a pack of pretzel or cracker sticks with some processed cheese dip. Kind of a bummer. And ironic, since Sargento is always now advertising how they make such exceptional cheeses, not processed, with high-quality ingredients.


Fiat pace cars


These guys were so happy it was creepy.


The Love Monkeys. My brother said they’re a pretty popular local cover band.


More jugglers

At the Summerfest grounds there were a lot of entertainers. We walked around and checked out all of the displays, jugglers, musicians.


Summerfest Grounds

Until next year…. !


Jessica at Culver’s

Oh, one more photo. Later on we met up with Amanda, Jess, Steph and my mom and went to Culver’s. Compare this photo of Jess at Culver’s with my last photo of Jess at Culver’s. Crazy!

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